Omaha daily bee., 1887-05-30
COFFEE'S CONSIDERATION.
Why the Cup Will Cost Sl20,000, 600
More This Year.
BERRY BULLERE.
Gambling On the Crops-Cntrusts
worthy Reports Diseased Lcrvcs..
Syndicatcs Observation-Disclosures
In the Option Market.
Tea On TOW.

TnE COFFEE ENCuANGE, NEW YORK,
May Especial to the BEE. l-CotIee is
higher than it has ever been before tor any
considerable period. The coffee situation,
therefore, is interesting. not to say serious.
Gambling in II is just now wilder than IN
any stocks or in any other produce. The
price has advanced 100 per cent in u year;
and, If the lowest and highest prices are
taken, $50 per cent. If the present situation
continues tine coffee drinkers in the United
States will pay S50OO00oO more for it than
they paid in lSSj, and SG0,0OO,0oo more than
they paid in ISL The rise in price is, there
FORE equal to the imposition of about 81 on
every man, woman and child (whether cof-
fee drinkers or noN, in the country. Aud If
the movement upward continues, coffee Will
pass ont of the daily use of the peo-
pie and become luxury. The
cause of this startling advance
in price is thrce-fold. The con-
sumption has increased much more rapidly
tnan the supply. In 1861 the consumption
per capita was 40 pounds. In 1873 the first
year after it was put on the free list 1t was
967: in 1854 it was $50, and it has since in
creased The range of prices has been for
fair Rio in 1860, l3 cents; in 1870, 10 to IN
cents; in 1850 II to l4'5 cents; May of last
year. 9i4 cents. Now it is about 20 cents.
Another cause is the chance given for
gambling by the necessary lack OF trust
worthy crop reports. There is no concerted
news gathering in inland Brazil. The third
cause is the estimated shortness of the crop
in Brazil, which has now Just been gathered
and will begin to arrive about july LIST. The
Brazil crop is estimated at from 223o,ooo to
4,5OD,00O bags. The expectation year ago
was of crop of from 5,oOo,o0O to 5000 600
bags. A shortage of 100000 bags
they tic!i' now m'SH' are. e." the crop @ in Java
also also is short. In Ceylon the leaf disease
has reduced the production by at least one.
half. Thus the supply OF the very best coffee
is sure to be smaller for this year than it ha!
| been for n generation. To-day the highest
| figures are paid for Mysore coffee, and it is
| considered the best grown Mysore is q part
| of upper British India and the cultivation Of
| the berry is entirely under European con-
| troll. Thus far the leaf disease, which has
spread such havoc in Java and Ceylon, has
| left British India alone; bat how long 1t will
| do so it is hard to say. All attempts tograp-
| pie with this disease have proved fruitless,
| and If it ever puts in an appearance IN
| iirazil the days of coffee drinking. will be
numbered There are those who believe that
unless the leaf disease can be grapplcd with
successfully tits only a question OF time when
| a cup of coffee will be as great luxury as
| bottle of champagne.
Whether or not the price will be maintained
at so high figure will depend much on the
| future of speculation. The only coffee eX-
which now has great boom. The fever is
| higher than ever before in the history of the
trade. There is more gambling In 1t than in
| any other grocery staple. The present un.
certain outlook of the supply has brought
| outsiders into the speculation. Syndicates
have been often formed to bull the market,
| but in the majority of cases they have failed.
| The syndicate of 1883, after costing the con-
| surners of coffee over SS,0JO,O0O, lost more
| than it made and brought down several large
dicate were Hayre and Rio houses, with some
few New York firms added. The
present syndicate which is booming
| prices is composed of New York,
| French and Brazilian houses, and IS
| by far the strongest ever formed. There are,
| on the situation, and several have made a
| good round sum already. MesSrs. Hard Ss
| Rand, who do not speculate in options, but
| are the largest importers OF coffee in this
country, have netted anywhere from $500 COZ
to S1500OO. If we consider that bag OF
coffee which was worth year ago say Sl3 Is
to-day worth S25, tie greatest advance having
taken place within the last six weeks the
above estimate is not unreasonable, ii 1t Is
not entirely too, small, Arnold the old
spoils and so has Selligsberg who acted for
the defunct syndicate in 1883 The
Arbuckles, who are the largest dis
tributors of coffee in the. world,
must have netted at least half million dol
lars, athon!h they were not bulls on the
ordinary run of trade. Cotton brokers and
| even Wall street tnancierS, have come into
the option market, as the activity on the
| coffee exchange has been for some time mora
attractive than either cotton or stocks. What
| the actual results of the present speculative
craze will be it is hard to say but II the
present conditions continue, the consumers
in the chief cOfee-drinking countries will
| have to pay this year about sl2O, ,O00,o 900 more
for the cup than they have ever paid any